Because blood is prone to viral contamination, and because donated blood has a limited shelf life, donated blood appears to be in constant short supply. In response, much effort has been focused on the development of compositions commonly referred to as “blood substitutes” or “artificial blood”. These compositions are appropriately termed “gas carriers.”
Microbubbles have been developed for use as contrast-enhancing agents for ultrasonic imaging of the heart and blood vessels. Certain of these contrast-enhancing agent microbubbles are formed from perfluorocarbons (“PFCs”) and used in methods for ultrasound imaging. PFCs that are disclosed as being useful for creating microbubbles include dodecafluoro-pentane (DDFP).